 |
 |
I hope this is an allowable post to this forum. I feel very strongly about this issue. It will affect all of us, PWP and PW(O=out)P too. I urge everyone concerned (U.S.citizen or not) to sign the petition and forward it. Nancy K. Porter 65/62/56 Dear Friend, There is nothing patriotic about handing over our natural heritage to the oil industry. But that's exactly what the White House wants to do in the name of national security. I'm asking you to join me in opposing the senseless destruction of our environment by going to http://www.savebiogems.org/declaration.asp and signing the Declaration of Energy Independence. The declaration calls on our government to pursue a sustainable energy future that will preserve -- not destroy -- our last, unspoiled wildlands. We have little time to lose. With the nation's attention focused almost exclusively on the war against terrorism, the Bush administration has moved quietly but aggressively in recent months to open up fragile wildlands to giant energy corporations. In Utah, they were in such a hurry to lease millions of acres of our redrock canyonlands for oil and gas development that they skipped the environmental review that is required by law. My colleagues here at NRDC have already gone to federal court to block this illegal giveaway of redrock country. But that's only the beginning. The Bush-Cheney energy plan -- hatched in closed-door meetings last year with Enron and other energy giants -- would pave the way for oil and gas companies to despoil an alarming number of our last wild places: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, Wyoming's Red Desert, and many, many more. President Bush says we need the oil to become more energy independent. Don't buy it! Using the tragic events of September 11th as an opportunity to advance the special interests of the oil industry will not enhance America's energy security. Our nation simply doesn't have enough oil to drill our way to self-sufficiency. If we really want to declare energy independence, then the only answer is to dramatically reduce our appetite for oil. For starters, we could increase the fuel efficiency of our cars and light trucks to 40 miles per gallon. That would save nearly two million barrels of oil a day by the year 2012 -- more than all the oil we imported last year from Saudi Arabia. The Declaration of Energy Independence sets forth plenty of other ways to slash our dependence on oil. It proves that fighting terrorism does NOT require the destruction of our own natural heritage. Please do your part by visiting http://www.savebiogems.org/declaration.asp and signing the Declaration of Energy Independence. It will take you less than a minute. Then please forward this message to your family and friends. If millions of us sign the declaration, then the White House and Congress will be unable to ignore its message. And thank you for helping to save America's last wild places. Sincerely yours, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Senior Attorney Natural Resources Defense Council ===== BioGems: Saving Endangered Wild Places A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council http://www.savebiogems.org Note: We appreciate the opportunity to communicate with you and other NRDC BioGems Defenders, but if you would prefer not to receive BioGems news and updates or hear from BioGems activists in the field, you can send an email message to [log in to unmask] with "Please remove my name" in the subject line. ----------------- End Forwarded Message ----------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn